Always Welcome
by Bound for Insanity
Summary: Though you may run into hardships, though you may get into arguments, though you may want to run away, everyone has a place where they are always welcome. For Uzumaki Naruto, this is one such place. One-shot.


Well, it's that time again folks. Another one-shot from yours truly. This time, the focus is on Ayame, daughter of Teuchi, who works at Ichiraku Ramen, and _not_ Naruto! Isn't that amazing?!

Ayame: I don't think it's quite as amazing as your work ethic... You should really write more.

Naruto: Yeah, seriously. It takes you _how_ long to churn out another fanfic?

Ah heh heh... I guess I'll do the disclaimer this time. Remember folks, I don't own Naruto, or any other character used within this story. Though, I can say I own the story itself. And yet again, this story _has not been beta'd_. I have tried to make this as perfect as possible, but I probably missed many things. Please tell me about them if you can.

* * *

All was quiet, peaceful. If one listened, one could hear the soft chirp of the birds. Slowly, the wind blew and rustled the trees. A melody of nature sung out to those that listened. But there was nought a person in sight.

And this was bad.

"Ayame... it looks like our fears have come true. At this rate, we'll have to close down..." Teuchi sighed, worry clearly evident in his old voice.

"But dad... we can't give up! We can make it out of this _somehow_, I just know it. There just... there just _has _be a way!" Ayame pleaded to her father. Though contrary to what she said, she had begun to lose hope as well. Not a customer was in sight, and it was still mid-day. She, with her father, ran a small, humble ramen shack by the name of "Ichiraku Ramen." Unfortunately, the number of customers that come slowly dimished over the years. Ayame knew without a doubt that this was not due to the taste of her father's ramen. Her father's ramen was delicious, for this she could vouch for. Yet, why were there no customers? Ayame could not begin to fathom why.

Ayame turned to her father, studying his face. Though Teuchi did not show it, she could tell he was tormented. And this in turn tormented Ayame. As her mother had died when she was but a small child, her father had to take care of her. On the occasions where they would sit and eat ramen together, Ayame was happiest. To see her father like this pained her. She wanted to do something, anything to help. At first, when she turned eleven, she had insisted on helping out at the shack, promising not to get in his way. Though Teuchi resisted at first, he eventually gave in to his daughter. It had been a year since then, and still the shack had little success. Now she did not know what to do...

Suddenly, the soft pitter-patter of feet caught Ayame's attention. She looked around, wondering where it came from; after all, she had not seen very many people come around here. Perhaps it was a potential customer...

She spotted a bright clutter of wild blonde hair at the corner of the entrance. Bright blue eyes stared at her. '_A child? He doesn't look any older than seven..._' But still, this could be a customer, child or not.

"Welcome! What would you like?" She smiled, so as to coerce the child into the store. Teuchi also stared at the child, with a contemplative look on his face.

The child stared at her with wide eyes, which unnerved her. They remained in silence for a while. '_Isn't he going to say anything?_' Ayame thought to herself.

"Ca... can I have some ramen?" The boy suddenly spoke, breaking Ayame out of her thoughts. "Ah... yes, of course. But what type of ramen would you like?"

The boy closed his eyes and crossed his arms, deep in thought. '_Hehe, he looks kind of cute like that. Kind of like a little fox..._'

"Uh, uh, then can I have some miso ramen?" But as he said that, he stared at Teuchi with somewhat hesitant eyes.

Teuchi slowly prepared the bowl. As he headed towards the counter, bowl in hand, the boy seemed nervous. What for?

"... Here you go." The boy stared at Teuchi with wide eyes. Teuchi smiled softly at him. Ayame, however, looked on confused. '_Does dad know him?_'

"Th-thank you!" The boy rushed to the counter, and attempted to prop himself on the chair. Only now did Ayame notice that the boy _was_ rather short. Ayame giggled to herself, looking on at the comical sight.

Teuchi himself also chuckled. However, he headed over to the other side of the counter. He stood behind the boy and lifted him on to the chair, surprising the child.

"There. Enjoy the ramen." He said. The boy broke out of his bewildered surprise and grinned at Teuchi.

"I will! Itadakimasu!" Grabbing a pair of chopsticks, the boy slowly ate away at his ramen, an overjoyed grin on his face. Ayame looked at the kid, a little surprised. She had thought she was the only one that her father's ramen made happy. It felt nice to see that there were others that her father's ramen made happy as well.

Meanwhile, Teuchi returned behind the counters, a soft smile on his face as he watched the blonde child enjoy his ramen. Ayame turned to her father, and spoke softly, so she wouldn't catch the child's attention.

"Dad... do you know the kid? I didn't know you knew anyone like this."

Teuchi remained silent for a moment, with a look of regret that she never thought she see on her father's face.

"Unfortunately, no, I don't know him. At least, not personally. And right now... I'm really regretting this." He spoke finally.

"Huh? Dad, what do you mean?"

"It's not something that I can really speak about, but..." Teuchi trailed off. Ayame remained silent, waiting for her father to continue.

"... But this boy... he's had a hard life. One that I could not possibly imagine what it would be like. A life that he didn't deserve. And I didn't do anything to make it better." He finished.

Ayame was confused. What was her father talking about?

"Ayame." He said, catching her attention.

"Yes, dad?"

"This boy... I want you to know that he's always welcome here. Treat him as though he was family." He stated, eyes still staring at the blue eyed boy as he continue to eat up the ramen.

Ayame stayed silent, staring at the boy as well, watching him slurp and swallow the ramen with a large smile on his face. This continued for a while.

"I don't really get it dad, but..." She said, still staring at the boy. "... I've always wanted a little brother."

Teuchi gave his daughter a relieved smile, before turning back to the kitchen and cleaning up.

Suddenly, the boy stood up on his chair, picking at his pockets. Teuchi turned around, seemingly knowing what he wanted.

"It's alright, you don't need to pay. It's on the house." The boy gaped for a moment, before his face split into a wide grin. "Th-Thanks!"

The boy waved goodbye, before turning around and scurrying out of the ramen shack.

"Dad, was that alright? I mean..."

"It's okay. One customer wouldn't be able to save this place anyways. Might as well make someone happy before we close down." Teuchi said, picking up the bowl and putting it into the sink.

All was quiet once again. There was nought a person in sight.

**:ooooo:**

It was another day, and yet again, all was quiet. The birds were still chirping, and the winds still blew softly against the trees. The song of nature was once again being sung. But yet again, there was still no one in sight.

But at least it was quiet. Ayame was grateful for that much, at least. She rested her head on the counter, sitting on a chair, cleaning cloth in hand. Though he was out right now, hopefully her father wouldn't mind if she rested for bit...

"Hey!!" There was a shout from behind her. Ayame jumped in shock, nearly falling off the chair. Regaining her balance, Ayame turned around to the voice.

To her surprise, it was the boy from yesterday. "Oh, welcome. What would you like today?" She asked.

But the boy seemingly ignored her, and all but shouted at her. "Hey, hey!! Is it true, is it really true?!" Huh? What was the kid talking about?

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" She studied the boy. He seemed frantic, worried.

"You know, that! That, that..." He trailed off, seemingly trying to think of the words. "... That you're, uh, 'going out of business'!"

Ayame's eyes widened. Where had he heard that from?

"Some guy was talking about how this place would be 'going out of business' soon, because you didn't have enough money!"

"Ah, uh, you needn't worry about that. Now, what would you like today?" Ayame asked, attempting to change the subject.

Again, the boy ignored her question. "Well, well?! Is it true or not?!"

It seemed she wouldn't be able to get away from this without answering. Sighing, she did so.

"... Yes, it's true. But you don't need to worry about it, really. We'll think of something. So, what would you like today?"

The boy turned silent, a change from the loud and shouting boy he was just moments ago.

Without warning, the boy suddenly dug into his pocket, and dug out a wallet in the shape of a frog. It was seemingly stuffed to the brim. '_Oh, how cute._' Ayame giggled inwardly.

"Th-then, I'll come every day and buy so much ramen, you won't go out of business!" He proclaimed bravely. Ayame sighed, there was no way that would ever happen. '_Oh well, I'll play along._'

"Alright then. What kind of ramen would you like today?" She asked for the third time.

"Three miso ramen, and two pork ramen!"

"Alright, alrig--" Ayame's eye bulged. "Wh-what?! Can you really eat that much?!" She asked, surprised at the order. What was the kid thinking? There was no way he could eat that all. In fact, could he even afford it?

"Yep!" He answered simply, a proud-like look on his face.

Hesitantly, Ayame asked. "... Are you sure? It won't be my fault if you can't eat it all."

"I'm sure!"

Ayame nodded to herself. Oh well, it was his choice. Besides, he could probably take in about two bowls, that would leave a bowl for her and two for her dad. It would work out if he didn't finished. Though, she was pretty interested in how he'd be able to afford it. '_Just making people happy before we're shut down, huh? I guess this'll be on the house too._'

"Alright, but just so you know, my ramen isn't as good as my dad's, and he's not here right now. I hope that's alright." She warned him, as a last attempt to coerce him out of this.

"Okay! I'm sure your ramen is just as good, lady!" He grinned. Ayame looked at the boy surprise, before giggling to herself. '_Lady, huh? I'm only twelve though..._'

"My name's not lady, it's Ayame, okay? A-ya-me."

"Okay, Ayame-nee-chan!" Ayame once again looked at the boy with surprise. She was supposed to act like his older sister, after all. '_Why does he keep on surprising me? If he ever turned into a ninja, well, he would be one surprising ninja..._'

"So what about you? What's your name?" She asked.

"Me? I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage at your service!"

**:ooooo:**

Ayame wiped the counters slowly. Teuchi was boiling the broth and preparing the noodles. The shack was as quiet as always, and the nature still sung its song. Though there was no one in sight, Ayame didn't at all feel anxious.

After all, she was expecting a customer to arrive any moment now.

'_Hard to believe it has been five years... Thinking back, I never expected him to finish all five bowls. And to think, he even ordered more!_' She reminisced.

The sound of someone entering the shack caught her ears. Without even turning around, she said. "Welcome back, Naruto."

"Hey, Ayame-nee-chan, old man!" Naruto grinned at the two.

Ayame smiled. "So, what would you like today?"

* * *

There you have it. As I've always said, whether you like it, hate, or don't care at all, please review!

Ayame: Constructive criticism is always welcome, just like Naruto is always welcome at Ichiraku Ramen!

Naruto: Aw shucks... Heh heh...


End file.
